Posted by Ed Kiser on April 30, 2001 at 05:03:14 from 64.20.230.38:
About the concept of "larder": from these quotes, taken from the five
RANSOME writings of the Lake District, and other mentionings in the
TARBOARD, the picture I got is that of a closet opening into the kitchen,
but such an arrangement would essentially share the temperature of the
kitchen with no coolness for food preservation being provided.
There is nothing in these descriptions of the larder in the Ransome stories
that would seem to cause it to be a "cool" place. It is from the TARBOARD
I find out that it is constructed of stone, that it is on the north side of
the house to be in the shade, with certain ventilation requirements.
It was just a storage room for food. I saw nothing in the Ransome writings
that indicated any method of achieving "coolness." That the larder is
supposed to be cool is implied, by the reference of getting cold meat from
the larder. (P256, chapter 25, PM. See final quote at the tail end of the
LARDER section of this report.)
Now, to distinguish between LARDER and PANTRY...
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Encounters with the word: "LARDER":
NOTE: lines taken as quoted from the books are enclosed with []...
These quotes are taken only from the five LAKES books of Ransome.
SWALLOWDALE
Chapter 12 - P155
Titty has proudly shown the elder Swallows the cave they had discovered.
John went in first, then the others. It was a bit dusty. The decided to
name the cave as being Peter Duck's Cave.
["It's a fine place for keeping the stores," said Susan. "As cool
as anything. You couldn't have a better larder."]
Chapter 14 - P185
Susan was preparing their first meal at Swallowdale, while the others were
exploring. They discovered the Watch Tower Rock, and were quite pleased
with its possible usages. They returned, full of excitement about their
discovery of the Rock, but Susan was being Susan, interested only in
cooking and her housekeeping chores.
["Come and look at it," said Roger.
"Dinner first," said the made. "Come here, Able-seaman, and
you too, Boy, and shell peas, so that the captain can be making
the broom. Then you can all go to look at the rock after dinner
while I'm sweeping out the larder."]
Her view of the cave is not that of an explorer, but a housekeeper.
same chapter, P189
Susan has just finished sweeping out the Cave, and discovered the
ventilation hole at the top of the cave, which certainly helps keep the air
in the cave from being stale. This is something like a description offered
on the TARBOARD of a larder that has a small open window at the top.
They were pleased to find this airhole, as it meant now they could all hide
in the cafe safely, and that the parrot could be kept in there at night as
well.
[... said Susan, who was very pleased indeed to find that her larder was
properly aired, and ...]
Susan is still being the housekeeper, concerned about the freshness of the
air in her "larder", not too concerned about its use as a hiding place.
Chapter 15 - P205
Mrs. Walker with Bridget were visiting Swallowdale Camp for the first time.
When the cave was proudly disclosed to her, and she had gone in to inspect,
she came back out and said...
["Any explorer would be glad if he'd found a cave like that."
This pleased Titty and Roger. "It's a very neat and well-kept
larder." This pleased Susan. "It wants nothing but a stone table."]
Chapter 28 - P339
Titty and Roger are about to part company with the others. The younger
pair are to walk back across the moor following their trail of pine cones,
while the others are to sail in Amazon back home via the lake. Susan, for
ever the housekeeper, is giving last minute instructions to Titty...
["Well, look here, Titty," said Susan. "There really isn't much
wind, so if you do get back before us you can get the fire going and
put some water on to boil. You'll find the saucepan in the larder."]
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WINTER HOLIDAY
Chapter 4 - P48
After Nancy and Peggy had been a bit galootish by trying out the firmness
of the ice over the tarn, and had gotten their feet wet as a result, they
all went to Mrs. Dixon's to warm up, and to get their wet feet dried out.
["And now then," said Mrs. Dixon, as she came back from
the larder with two of the new pork pies, "what have you two
lasses been doing with your shoes?"]
This makes me wonder: in the Winter, would it be FREEZING in the larder, or
would there be enough warmth to get in from the rest of the house to avoid
that problem. The TARBOARD description says it is UNHEATED, and there is
that open window at the top for ventilation, so it may be at least NEAR to
freezing in there.
Chapter 25 - p305
Nancy has essentially recovered from her illness, and concerned not
knowing the whereabouts of the D's which have been reported missing, has
suddenly noticed the light flashing from the north end of the lake, and
realized the letters, "NP" is good news, as it means someone, very likely
the D's, is at the North Pole.
[Nancy wasted no time. Her knapsack, too, was ready for next
day. She charged into the larder. A cake seemed the handiest thing
in the way of food. She pushed it into her knapsack. She grabbed
her skates.]
If that cake had any icing on it, I do wonder what the inside of her
knapsack looked like afterwards. But I suppose when an emergency is at
hand, one does not bother with the trivia of niceties.
Chapter 28 - P332
The D's have finally made it to the North Pole, found the supplies Captain
Flint had previously left there for them, had taken these out and arranged
them in the corner of the room, in the manner of a food storage area.
[The packing-case itself had been turned over to make a table, and one
corner of the hut looked almost like a larder. Dorothea thought that even
Susan would think that her Polar housekeeping was not half bad.]
Here, the "larder" is not a special room, just a collection of food stuffs
gathered together in one localized area.
In the situation that existed in the "North Pole", spoilage due to HEAT was
not a problem.
same chapter - P336
The D's were still alone at the North Pole, and had been for some time.
They had been signalling: "NP" with lantern flashes, but nothing in the way
of any sign of anybody. Dot was about to give up the wait, and think about
the struggle to get back home through the storm.
["Dick," she said, looking at that neat larder, "let's put every-
thing back. We've got to start home."
"But we can't go away now we've signalled," said Dick.]
same chapter - P340
Nancy has finally struggled thru the snow and has found the D's at the NP.
She hears the tale of how they had come, and why they came when they did.
[She looked round at the neat larder, read the writing on the
packing-case, and looked at the label fastened on the flagstaff.]
same chapter - P343
The rest of the expedition finally made their way to the NP, with much
swapping of war stories of how it all happened.
["Everybody's done jolly well," said Nancy.
"Captain Flint, too," said Roger, admiring the larder. And
then, noticing the coal-sack. "That was why his sledge was all
black and sooty."]
Chapter 29 - P346
Next morning, as they awakened, they found that Captain Flint and Mrs.
Blackett had arrived sometime during the night, and were there fast asleep.
They were trying to not make any noise to disturb them. Susan was
attending to housekeeping, as quietly as she could.
[Peggy and Roger and Dick slept on, while the others watched
Susan, busy about fire and larder, as silent as she knew how.]
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PICTS AND MARTYRS
Chapter 5 - P44
They are frantically trying to get the D's relocated at the Dogs' Home
before the GA arrives, getting supplies together for the D's to use.
["Out of my kitchen all the lot of you," said Cook. "We'll be
having her here before they're out of the house. Miss Peggy, come
out of my larder..."]
same chapter - P46
The D's are busy getting the hut arranged to their liking.
[A soap box, in a corner well away from the fire, was being
used as a larder. The sugar case made a table and store cupboard
in one.]
Here at least it is recognized as a place that is supposed to be kept cool.
Not much they can do to actually cool it, but the location can help to
avoid HEATING it.
We can see that how the word, "larder", is used here (and in the North Pole
back in WH), the larder is NOT necessarily a separate room, just an area or
some other storage container.
Chapter 6 - P49,50
The concept of the larder as being, not a separate room, but just a storage
container of some sort, is repeated in...
[Meanwhile Dorothea had pulled all the furniture
out once more, the packing-case table, the soap-box larder, the
three-legged stool, the chair with the broken back, the two suit-
cases. Then she set to work with her new broom and the hut
filled with choking clouds of dust.]
Chapter 25 - P254
Everybody is all upset over the unknown fate of the GA. The D's, feeling a
bit out of place, are in the Beckfoot kitchen.
["We'd better go," said Dorothea.
"You bide where you are," said Cook. "You come into my
kitchen."
"Yes, do," said Peggy. "We'll see from the window when they
bring her back. We can easily get you out. And there's the larder
to hide in. And the pantry."]
Another term shows up: "Pantry". I have been thinking that the LARDER and
the PANTRY are essentially interchangable. Both are like a closet off the
kitchen that is used for food storage. Now here, this shows that there are
TWO such storage places, apparently not the same thing at all. The
assumption here is that the LARDER is cooler, suitable for storage of the
more perishables such as meat, milk, cheese, whereas PANTRY could be used
for the storage of cans, uh, I mean, TINS of food. I wonder if a large
container of FLOUR would be kept in the PANTRY or the LARDER...
same chapter - P256
Still no word as to where the GA is. Cook is really greatly concerned and
upset over this turn of events.
[Dorothea and Dick followed Cook up the steps out of the yard
and into the kitchen. They hung about watching her bustling
round, muttering to herself, slamming knives and forks on the
kitchen table, fetching cold meat from the larder, popping
potatoes in a saucepan, and stopping every now and then to
listen, as if any any moment she thought she might hear Miss
Turner's footsteps somewhere in the house.]
This reference shows that the larder is a cool place, good for the storage
of meat.
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Now, let us look for the references to PANTRY. I found only TWO such
references...
Pigeon Post, Chapter 6, P76
[As they went in, the noise was almost deafening. There,
above their heads the bell was whirring, the big tea-tray
throbbing like a sounding-board. In the passage was a pile of
broken plates.
"Lucky it wasn't the best service," said cook. "A noise like
that, and me just crossing to the pantry..."]
The implication here is that the pantry is not directly opening to the
kitchen, as it seems that cook was in the passage, having left the kitchen
where the dishes probably were washed, and were being taken to the pantry.
This may suggest that the pantry is a storage area, perhaps of some
non-food stuffs, such as dishes. Perhaps some non-perishable food items
are also kept in the pantry, but it seems strange that such kitchen-related
items are not in a storage room that is directly off the kitchen, but must
be accessed by going down (or across) some sort of passage first. Not very
convenient.
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Picts And Martyrs, Chapter 25,P254
Here, we see the reference to BOTH the LARDER and the PANTRY, leaving the
impression that these are two different locations, with different
functions.
["Yes, do," said Peggy. "We'll see from the window when they
bring her back. We can easily get you out. And there's the larder
to hide in. And the pantry."]
As the D's were waiting there in the kitchen for news of the GA, the above
suggests that both the larder and the pantry are very easily accessed from
the kitchen.
The pantry being referred to, in both quotes, is the one at Beckfoot.
There is no mention of a pantry in any of the other houses of this area.
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Is it common for the usual house to have two separate "rooms", with one
being called the LARDER and the other being the PANTRY, as was apparently
the case at Beckfoot?
In today's kitchen, we use a refrigerator (electric) for storage of items
needing to be cool (or frozen for that matter...) Non-cooled food items
such as cans (uh, sorry 'bout that... "tins") or non-food items (dishes,
cups, glasses) are stored in kitchen CABINETS, a collection of shelves with
simple doors in front to hide the unsightly array from normal view. There
is no separate ROOM for such storage. No hiding in my "larder" or
"pantry."
This concept more closely matches the concept of "larder" as used on board
the TEASEL in Coot Club, with storage cabinets being referenced.
Certainly, there is no STONE ROOM on the NORTH SIDE OF THE HOUSE on board
that boat to keep items cool.
Ed Kiser... just wonderin'...